Boundaries Are Good
by artunicornavenger
Summary: Peter Parker is on his way to Berlin, Germany to help out Team Iron Man. However excited he may be, he is still unsure of what to expect. He becomes very guarded and tries to keep his identity under wraps. Watch Tony Stark’s newest recruit get into action and see his side of Captain America: Civil War. Peter knows it may be a wild ride, but boy, is that only one part of the story.
1. The Calm Before The Storm

**Thursday, June 23, 2016: Afternoon**

Peter wasn't quite sure what to expect for the coming weekend but he knew that his gut was churning with nervousness. He didn't know why, but he certainly did not want to dwell on it. He sat there, Thursday afternoon, looking at his hurriedly packed belongings, as he tried to quell the jumble of emotions that distracted him from homework. Tomorrow was a big day; he would be travelling to Germany this evening to help out his childhood hero, Tony Stark, hunt down the other Avengers. He wasn't sure why, but it felt like he was going into this mission with very little reason to. Aunt May had brought him Thai and while it made him feel a little better, he was initially too anxious for food. Peter looked at his chemistry homework and flipped a little further in the notes to find his web solutions, just to see what he would improve the next time around. It was what made him feel a bit calmer and he didn't try to think too much about the ideas that would occupy his mind.

He had plenty of time for that on the plane ride to Berlin. His focus shifted to his phone as he looked at an unknown number with a text that said: _Kid,_ _I'm picking you up at 6:00. Be ready._ He blinked and tried to make sense of the words, no matter how straightforward they were because it was so bizarre to him. He didn't know that his teenage life would turn dramatically so quickly and so hard. He knew that people said puberty was difficult to go through, but no one told him his version of it would be a dizzying fit of nerves and excitement. Even though it terrified him, he was excited to see where this new chapter in life would take him. He was bitten by a radioactive spider, got cool powers, became Spider-Man, and all of a sudden Tony Stark came to his apartment to ask him for help. But it all crashed down when he thought of his uncle Ben who was no longer there to be his ground and father figure when he needed one so terribly. His aunt was all he had left and he cherished that woman with all his heart, always keeping in mind that if anything were to happen to her, he would give it his all to protect her. He just hoped that nothing would go wrong to the point that it meant giving up Spider-Man.

With all sorts of thoughts occupying his mind, he looked out the window and decided to go to the roof. It would be the perfect time to just let go of all the week's stress built up from anticipation and school endeavours...maybe that included crime fighting, too. He slipped on a hoodie over his pyjamas and put on his sneakers before climbing out the window. When he got to the roof, he sat on the ledge, looking at the expanse of the city before him. Ah, Queens, the roughest but greatest place to call home in New York. It was beautiful and the best part of it was the peace of the afternoon accompanied by the magnificent sight. Peter smiled and closed his eyes as he felt the cool breeze wash away his worries and replaced them with exciting ideas of the summer to come. _Everything will be okay. I'm sure of it._ On that note, he spent a good fifteen, twenty minutes just relishing in the remaining hours he had at home before his trip to Germany.

After a time, he decided to go back inside and quietly slipped in through the window. When he sat on the bed, he felt his phone vibrate and there was a text from Ned.

_Have a great trip. Eat a schnitzel and frankfurter for me. I'm going to miss you, but I got a new Lego set so when you come back we need to build it and have a Star Wars marathon. _

Peter grinned and sent a text back.

_I'll miss you too, but I'm gonna need two full popcorn bowls and a full tub of Oreo Chocolate Frozen Dessert. Don't you dare start that set without me. Bye. _

He laid down on his bed and sighed giddily from the built-up tension, relaxing slightly but he suddenly craved food like any teenager with a bottomless appetite. As soon as he got up and reached for the Thai left on his bedside table, he heard his phone vibrate again and it was from Ned, again.

_P.S. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE??????? FREAKING **TONY STARK** SHOWED UP AT YOUR PLACE???!!!! Say hi to him from me. Ok? Love ya, bro. Did I mention to eat a schnitzel for me? _

Peter just laughed and shook his head as he tried to figure out what his life was even. So, with only so much time to spare, he grabbed his Thai and just inhaled it like he never did in years. He also decided he had enough time to decide which playlist he was going to listen to during the trip because there were so many songs he wanted to jam out to. He quickly realized that he also needed to pack up his homework that was currently sprawled out over his bed like a total freakish mess that was normal to every high school student after spending one too many hours doing school-related things.

After a whole lot of shuffling around to make sure he had everything in place and checked his suitcase over a hundred times, he thought he was ready to go until he looked down and realized he still had PJs on. _Oh, what the heck. I don't care, I'm spending time on a private plane anyways, but it's going through the night. Beat that logic, brain. I dare you. _

"Peter, sweetheart! Do you have everything ready? It's almost time for you to go." Aunt May yelled from the living room.

"Yeah, Aunt May. I think I just need a few minutes to recheck everything one final time. There is still something that might be missing although I doubt it."

Fast forward nearly an hour later, Peter had all his packed belongings in the living room, near the front door. His heightened senses were on edge more than ever and although he had about forty-five minutes to himself, it didn't make him any less nervous for what was to come. His aunt was in the kitchen, making herself a coffee and humming while he sat in front of the television, watching some random newscast. He chewed at his lip in anticipation and he felt sweat across his forehead, probably summer heat combined with his nervous fidgeting, but Peter convinced himself it was the former. Every minute that passed by made his situation more stressful and he still could not understand why he felt so out of place. Tony had left him with very little to go off of and Peter did not like that he was being kept in the dark. He was not a dumb, naive little kid that would believe everything he was told and as thrilled as he was to meet one of his childhood heroes, he questioned the authenticity of that meeting. What was going on in Tony Stark's brain? Only the man knew and no one else. Peter knew he was about to find out.

The teenager already planned out how he was going to maintain his behaviour towards these adults he was yet to meet, friendly and comfortable but still reserved and closed off. He may have respect for the Avengers, but now that he was going to meet them in person and under unfortunate circumstances, he was going to keep his guard up because it was necessary. Peter didn't care what they would think in terms of him being a teenager and less mature than them, but he could hold a front and he could hold his ground just fine. He only wondered, _Would that be enough? Can I keep my identity safe? Or is it better that I'm revealed?_

He shook his head and tried to focus on the newscast but he was much too distracted that the voices onscreen became white noise to him until he heard May call him.

"Peter, do you want some coffee? I got some burnt sugar ice cream leftover if you want?"

"Sure. Can you add a cherry while you're at it?"

"Ok, honey."

A few minutes later, his aunt came out of the kitchen with his dessert and set it in front of him on the table. Peter grabbed it and ate slowly. He smiled and was so grateful for his aunt trying to make him feel better because she saw that he was so agitated that entire afternoon after Tony Stark left their apartment. She did not ask why, but she knew that something was off, although she wanted Peter to come to his own terms when he wanted to talk and she trusted him as he did her. They settled in comfortable silence, drinking coffee and enjoying ice cream as the time passed by. Then, it was time to go. Peter got a text to be ready and to come to the front of the building.

Aunt May had put all the dirty dishes in the sink and Peter had put on his shoes, finally ready to go. She trailed him and grabbed her key as Peter shuffled out the door with his suitcase, waiting for his aunt to lock the door. They both walked down the hall to the elevator and greeted a few of their neighbours. When they got to the main lobby, Peter quickened his pace, getting closer to the front door of the building where he saw a black car waiting. Finally pushing the door open, there was a man with sunglasses standing by the car and he approached Peter.

"Are you Peter Parker?"

"Yes. And you are?"

"Happy. Happy Hogan. Tony sent me to come get you. Oh, is this your aunt, kid?"

Peter turned his head and May had come to stand beside him with a hand on her nephew's shoulder, taking in the stranger.

"Hello, yes, I'm his aunt. May Parker, it's nice to meet you. I hope my nephew will be a good boy and I'm sure he won't be any trouble. Bring him back in one piece because he is kind of precious cargo to me."

May stepped forward and held out a hand to Happy to shake hands. After a beat, Happy opened the trunk of the car and took Peter's luggage as May hugged Peter, kissing him on the forehead.

"You, be good and call me when you arrive. Make sure to not give anyone a hard time, do your homework, and enjoy yourself. Also, try to get some sleep, you night owl. I larb you, ok?"

"I larb you, too. I'll try."

After a few moments, she let go of him and he went towards the backseat. Happy was already in the car and just as Peter was about to open the door, his aunt spoke once more.

"And Peter? You know you can talk to me, right?"

Peter looked at her and he could see the sincerity in her eyes so he gave an appreciative smile and nodded. Of course, he trusted her, who else would he turn to? He gave her another hug and smelt the fresh, sweet scent of her hair. He would miss her so.

"I know. I love you...and thank you, Aunt May."

When they finally parted, he opened the door, got in and waved to May as she waved back. The car started moving and Peter realized this was it. _No turning back now. _He turned around and looked as Queens passed him by. _Bye Queens. For now._


	2. Best Padawans Forever

**Thursday, June 23, 2016: Evening **

They had gotten out of Queens and onto the highway, passing by the Stark Expo. Peter could see the giant globe, repaired after the events of the 2010 Expo, thinking back to when he had been there with his aunt and uncle. It was an unbelievable experience because he had met Tony Stark who patted his helmet as he passed by and afterwards saved by his hero as a drone approached, ready to fire. Iron Man was too quick and blasted the machine to pieces before the boy would be obliterated; Peter was over the moon but he was still scared at the time.

He smiled to himself at the memory and pulled out his phone to film some footage of the city. Then, an idea popped into his head; he could make a vlog of his trip, albeit secret. He could add the gruff voiceover later on, when he wasn't with a stranger because wouldn't that be awkward? He faced the window and hit record, capturing the beauty of the summer day and the giant globe that they were passing by. He kept recording as they got off the highway and into downtown New York, rotating every which way to get good footage. After a while, he stopped.

Peter decided to go through the video and see what he would keep for editing purposes. It was so spectacular what he could do with modern day technology, he made himself believe that he was already some big YouTuber. He was so engrossed in watching his video that he didn't notice Happy taking a glance at him in the rear view mirror with a quirked eyebrow. Happy had returned his gaze to the road and against, what he felt was his better judgment, spoke up.

"Hey, kid, what are you doing?"

Peter looked up, almost spooked like the typical deer in headlights.

"Um, nothing special...Just watching and editing a video?"

"Why do you sound so unsure about that? I'm just telling you, you can't post any of that. I can wipe the chip if I have to. That's a warning, Parker."

Peter looked down, his eyes wide and confused by the confrontation, but he nodded, even if Happy hadn't seen it. He shrugged off the awkward conversation, but he couldn't help but wonder if all their conversations would be like that. He worried a bit about the rest of the trip; if it continued that way, he knew he would die, cringing in eternal embarrassment. _Teenage angst at its finest._ Blessed be that silence that saved him from experiencing more embarrassment, but alas, it did not last. Peter wanted to refrain from saying another word, but damn it, he just _had_ to ask a question.

"Um, Mr. Hogan-"

"Happy."

"Ok, _Happy_, how long is the flight from here to Berlin?"

"Around nine and a half hours. Anything else you want to know?"

"Is Mr. Stark coming with us?"

"No, he already headed out, pretty much after he talked to you."

"Oh, ok."

They settled into a more comfortable silence for a while as they neared the JFK airport and Happy was more than relieved. The boy was not what he expected; when Tony sent him to pick up Peter, he was dreading that the kid would be extremely talkative and have no sense for privacy. He assumed that he would be very curious about all the details regarding their trip but instead he only asked two questions and remained silent, busying himself with whatever things teenagers nowadays did. Happy thought he might actually get through this trip without getting a headache, yet shook his head because that might still be a pipe dream.

Peter was working on his chemistry homework but had flipped through the notes to his web formula and was looking at his newest revision. He stared at the formula and tried looking over potential variables, chewing his pencil all the while until he heard the loud ringtone from his phone. Startled by it, he tried digging it out of his bag, desperate to stop the ringing. He was so embarrassed at the music blaring that he could physically feel the blush becoming a deeper shade with each passing moment. When he was finally able to take out the still ringing phone, he pressed the accept call button and brought it up to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Pete!"

"Oh, Ned. It's just you..." Peter sighed in relief, but clutched his phone even closer as if Happy could somehow hear his conversation. Meanwhile, Happy raised an eyebrow and pressed the button for the divisor to go up.

"Uh, yeah, of course, it's me. Who else spams your phone? Is there some secret lover you have I wasn't aware of? Anyways, I had a question about chem. Remember the synthesis and decomposition worksheets?"

"Yeah. What about them?"

"I can't remember where I put six and seven. Also which ones are actually due next week? I can't believe exams are so near...It's exhausting and I don't know how much more of the workload I can take."

"Yeah, I feel you buddy. Listen, I think that Mrs. Haynes posted the sheets on Google Classroom, but the due date is next Tuesday; so whatever dilemma you're facing, we can solve by then. The pages due are three and four. If you want to double check your answers, if she doesn't have an answer key on the Classroom, I can send you mine."

"Thanks. You know, even if you're gonna be gone for a few days, I'm starting to feel our personal friendship connection starting to disconnect slowly and it's hurting me physically."

Peter smiled and snorted, rolling his eyes in amusement. Leave it to Ned to be such a drama queen even though he was _still_ in the city.

"Dude, I haven't left the city yet. Still ever present in the red, white, and blue with fifty stars smacked dab in the middle. You don't have to be so dramatic, but I will humour you; I can feel that our connection with the Force is going a bit haywire due to us being near the Death Star that is the JFK airport. Are you feeling the reconnection yet?"

"Peter, that was...that was j-just...so _beautiful_, _Shakespeare_ would not be able to understand the emotional integrity of it. That's coming from someone who digs a nitty-gritty and dark play like Macbeth, even though I know you prefer Twelfth Night. You know what, I think all the warped up dark history of Shakespeare and all these other stories we had to read in English are finally catching up to me. The amount of descriptions we have for this exam is messing me up so hard, I really need that marathon when you get back, please."

"Ned, you will be fine, I promise you. We'll have that marathon and a study sesh all rolled up into one of your mom's amazing apple casseroles and my aunt's great cold cocoa. Capiche?"

"..."

"I'll take that as a yes. But, now I have to go and I will call you when I'm rested up, if I don't get too busy, ok? Bye."

"Bye, just don't forget where you belong. H-o-o-o-o-m-m-m-me!"

"Ok, please don't do that. You know that Zayn leaving One Direction is still a bit of a sore spot for me and I still haven't learned how those guys are able to charm the ladies so well, so I'm trying to take notes. Don't expose me. Now, for real, bye. I'll miss you, Ned."

"I'll miss you more, my young padawan."

With a laugh, Peter finally ended the call and looked at the phone screen for a second, his mouth twisted as thoughts ran through his mind. _How the heck are we supposed to survive exam week? Now that I think about it, I really do believe our English teacher wants us to suffer in eternal misery because of those novels. What have I done?_

As he stared off into space, traumatized by his teacher's betrayal, because of that _stupid, extra long, unnecessarily detailed_ _package_, he did not notice the divisor lowering. Happy was looking into the mirror at him and again, with the quirked eyebrow; it was his signature look when he wasn't looking like sucked on sour lemons.

"Kid, kid, are you good?" Happy asked. The teenage boy in the back was still in a state of frozen denial, the betrayal increasingly tearing him up from the inside. Peter had sunk into a deep void, only thoughts of homework, assignments, tests, projects, and the vague, droning voices of teachers overlapping as if they were echoes. It was torture. Until...

"Kid! Peter, are you in there? Kid, come on, don't pull this shit with me now. I don't have time for this," Happy was saying, snapping his fingers at the reflection of the fourteen-year-old to get his attention, but nothing was working. He was pulling into the JFK airport and going to the private sector where the Stark Industries jet would be waiting for the two of them to board. In his haste, Happy grabbed the file with papers for Peter and threw them at Peter's chest, hoping that would get him out of his weird phase. "I don't get paid enough for this. Next time, he might just find a resignation letter on his desk as his Christmas present."

When the document was about to hit him, Peter finally reacted when his Spidey Sense alerted him of something about to him and with lightning fast reflexes, he snatched the papers.

"Finally! Jeez, kid. What was that? You looked traumatized for a second there. Listen, those papers contain information for passing through inspection at the airport and you will also find that Tony put in a sheet debriefing what's going on and instructions on what you should do when the time comes. I'll explain more when we are on the plane."

"Okay," Peter answered and stared at the brown file for a good while, curious to see what was inside, but not daring to do so, yet. It felt like a forbidden treasure that was not to be opened, unless he was in private with no prying eyes around. _That's weird, why would you think that? Awkward lingo._ He just shook his head at the thought and looked out the window to see that they were arriving at a checkpoint as Happy slowed down the acceleration of the car. There was a small security building on two ends with security guards within both, waiting for people to come by and check in. As they neared the checkpoint, Peter felt queasy again, the knots in his stomach tightening. _This is it...The final frontier._ The dramatic narrator in him was taking full advantage of him, making him feel like he was going off to war. Maybe he was, who knew? After all, the world of superheroes was mysterious and covered with a thick layer of fog, it was nerve racking. To enter that world of the unknown was questionable and to understand the complexity, alone, it took one to know one and the rest, especially a group as well known as the Avengers. All he knew was that currently he was leaving his home city.

_Goodbye NYC. It was nice knowing ya._


End file.
